TRNAVA — Michael O'Neill insists Northern Ireland must write their own history as they prepare to face Ukraine in Trnava on Friday, 10 years after their famous Euro 2016 victory over the same opponents in Lyon. The Nations League League B2 fixture is being hosted in Slovakia due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Whenever Northern Ireland face Ukraine the memories return — the hailstones that halted the game, Gareth McAuley's header, Niall McGinn wheeling away in elation and the endless renditions of 'Will Grigg's on fire'. O'Neill, who was in the dugout that day, said his focus is firmly on the future. "We don't keep reflecting back on that game and telling the players this is what we aspire to be," he told BBC Sport NI in Trnava. "This team hopefully can write its own history and we have to allow them to do that."
Only two members of the Euro 2016 squad remain in the current group in Slovakia — Josh Magennis and 31-year-old Paddy McNair — while former captain Steven Davis is now a key member of O'Neill's coaching team. The turnover is stark: Ceadach O'Neill and Braiden Graham were only eight years old at Euro 2016, and even players with 25-plus caps such as Trai Hume, Shea Charles, Isaac Price and Brodie Spencer were still a few years away from taking their GCSEs. The average age of the starting team in Georgia was just 23, dropping to 22.5 against Hungary. "We may use certain examples of players from those games at Euro 2016 - the likes of Steven Davis, Jonny Evans, Gareth McAuley or Stuart Dallas - as good examples for players to aspire to be," O'Neill said. "But for me, this team is about the future and what lies ahead."
O'Neill's ultimate aim is to lead the young squad to a first major tournament since 2016 when the Euros return in 2028, and the return to the second tier of the Nations League has started positively. Shea Charles scored a 99th-minute winner in Georgia before a goalless draw at home to Hungary, where the players looked tired after a 5,000-mile return trip to Tbilisi but held their own against Dominik Szoboszlai's side. In the opener, Northern Ireland had kept Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia quiet.
Ukraine may lack the individual star power of Georgia and Hungary but O'Neill described them as favourites on Friday night, noting manager Andrea Maldera made 10 changes between their opening 1-0 win in Hungary and the goalless draw with Georgia. "Ukraine's strength is in their collective as a team, rather than what we faced against Georgia with Kvaratskhelia and Hungary with Szoboszlai, who are top European players," O'Neill said. "I think that Ukraine have many players that have potential to be on that level and go to the big, big clubs in Europe. We haven't highlighted any one individual, but we've looked very closely at how they play, with the ball and without the ball, and I believe their strength is in the collective of the team."